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Service Details |
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Personal Details
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Home State
Mississippi | |
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Year of Birth
1930 |
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This Military Service Page was created/owned by
SSG Carl Elliott
to remember
Palmer, James Hester, CSM.
If you knew or served with this Soldier and have additional information or photos to support this Page, please leave a message for the Page Administrator(s) HERE.
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Casualty Info
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Home Town
Meridian, MS |
Last Address
Meridian, MS
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Casualty Date
Apr 27, 1970 |
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Cause
Hostile, Died |
Reason
Air Loss, Crash - Land |
Location
Pleiku (Vietnam) |
Conflict
Vietnam War |
Location of Interment
Pleasant Springs Presbyterian Church Cemetery - Preston, Mississippi |
Wall/Plot Coordinates
11W 060 |
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Last Known Activity
FINAL MISSION OF SMAJ JAMES H. PALMER: On April 27, 1970, a U.S. Army helicopter UH-1D (tail number 66-00870) from the 281st Assault Helicopter Company, 1st Aviation Brigade, was flying a Command & Control mission for the 4th Infantry Division in the An Khe Pass with five passengers on board the aircraft when it was shot down near Pleiku, RVN. The only surviving crew member, SP4 Gary Fields, was the gunner for the mission. SP4 Fields remembers flying up the pass when the aircraft became targeted by .50 caliber fire from both sides. The pilot, CW2 Robert W. Gardner, took the brunt of the fire and slumped over the controls as the aircraft nosed over and out of control.
When SP4 Fields realized that the aircraft was going to crash, he jumped from the ship and fell approximately 200 feet, landing in a rice paddy. SP4 Fields suffered multiple injuries as a result of the fall, and is still disabled later in life. He was the only survivor because he jumped from the helicopter as it crashed in front of the lead ship in a combat aviation assault. The other crewmen included co-pilot WO1 Stanley J. Miller Jr. and crew chief SP5 George W. Tom. The passengers were LTC Gerald E. McKay, MAJ James A. Russ, SMAJ James H. Palmer, CAPT Roy V. Gray, and CAPT Carl N. Fisher Jr. [Taken from 281stash.org and vhpa.org]
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